Chandigarh, August 2
Moderate rainfall in the city and adjoining areas, which broke a long dry spell, brought respite to citizens from the sultry weather conditions here today. However, it brought misery to residents of low-lying areas and threw traffic out of
gear.

(Clockwise) Motorists drive through a flooded road that divides Sectors 20 and 30 in Chandigarh on Monday; motorists try to pull out their car stuck in the mud along a road in Sector 33; the intersections of the Chandigarh-Ambala and the Panchkula-Patiala highways turned into a large pool of muddy water in
Zirakpur, causing inconvenience to commuters; driving car was like boating against the current on the Airport road in Chandigarh; (and below) members of a family flush out rainwater from their bedroom in Phase-V of Mohali.
— Tribune photos by Manoj Mahajan

The low-lying areas and roundabouts were flooded in the morning, affecting vehicular traffic. Since the showers coincided with school and office timings, educational institutions and government offices reported thin attendance.

The storm water drainage system of the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh (MCC) came under strain. A majority of low-lying areas, including slum colonies and Behlana village near the Chandigarh airport, were flooded.

Power supply to several sectors, including 32, 20 and 33 was snapped and sparking from electricity poles was seen at several places. Cable network in several parts developed snag.

The Meteorological Department recorded moderate rainfall of 19 mm from 5.30 a.m. to 8.30 p.m. in the city. Terming it as “revival” of the monsoons, officials say the rainfall is likely to continue in days to come.

The maximum temperature, which was 32.8 degree celsius yesterday, dipped to 25.6 degree
celsius. The minimum temperature—23.8 degree celsius— was also lower than yesterday’s 25.6 degree celsius, bringing much respite from the sultry weather.

Today’s rainfall is stated to be beneficial for agriculture, which had been reeling under virtual drought-like conditions for the past several days.

The showers are expected to ease the power situation in the city.

Water entered Chandigarh airport building and submerged the taxiway connecting the runway with the parking bay. Jet Airways and Indian Airlines were forced to park their aircraft on the runway and the passengers ferried from the building in to the aircraft by bus.

Scheduled flights were delayed by 45 minutes on account of this.

Airport Authority of India officials said there was as much as three feet of water in some parts of the parking lot. Portions of the terminal building were in ankle-deep water. It was difficult for passengers to move from the vehicles to the building. They had a tough time transporting luggage from the parking lot to the building.

Some help was provided by CISF personnel on duty. Officials said rainwater flowed in from nearby Hallomajra.

Dera Bassi: Though continuous downpour brought relief and joy to farmers, it also put commuters, passengers and shopkeepers to hardship at Zirakpur, Dera Bassi, Lalru and other areas of this subdivision.

Rainwater accumulated at various low-lying areas, damaged goods after entering shops and houses and also washed away roads at various places. Certain vehicles met with accident and some remained
stranded for hours.

Knee-deep water that accumulated on the intersection of the Chandigarh-Ambala and the Panchkula-Rajpura highways in Zirakpur in the absence of proper drainage system caused a lot of inconvenience to the general public.

The intersection at these highways was virtually converted into a huge pool of water. People had to wade through the muddy water
to

take buses to their respective places.

Stinking sewer being discharged by a choked sewerage pipe on the highway in Zirakpur market aggravated the problem.

Mr Daram Singh, a farmer of Nabha village, said the rain had provided relief to farmers as they would now not need to spend on electricity and diesel to irrigate paddy.

Panchkula: The second day of rains in the township brought down the temperature substantially.

Though the township did not see a downpour, it began to rained early in the morning. Life was disrupted and most people preferred to stay indoors because of the rain. In the morning hours, traffic chaos was witnessed near the Sector 7/8/17/18 roundabout and Housing Board light.

Water accumulated near most of the roundabouts and on roads in Sector 10, 15 and 17. Since road gullies in most sectors had not been cleaned, most roads were flooded. In many parts of Industrial Area and in Sector 19, the residents faced problems because of standing water.

In the evening, the Superintending Engineer, HUDA, Mr S C Malik, took a round of Sector 19 and Industrial Area to check if the water had been drained out. He reportedly pulled up his staff for lack of proper drainage system and asked them to ensure that the problem did not occur again.

Mohali: For years now, residents of phase V have seen rainwater entering houses every monsoon. Today was no different.

Inmates of a whole row of houses from number 1760 woke up ankle deep rainwater inside their homes. Some had kept awake through the night, trying to stop water from entering inside.

In another house, the family was busy draining rainwater out of their houses. The road outside and the park beyond were completely inundated.

“The houses have been built in a low-lying area that behaves like a saucepan during the rains. ‘‘It collects all rain and since it is a depression, there is no draining of the water,’’ said Mr Vishal Shanker.

“We were told that courts have asked the Punjab Urban Planning and Development Authority (PUDA) to lay new pipes in the area,” he added.

Sources in PUDA said that a Rs 90 lakh project had been okayed under which new pipelines would be laid down in the area to channelise rainwater.”

Despite the fact that tenders for the project were invited over a month ago, nothing has moved. The previous Chief Administrator wanted PUDA to take up the project but now the new one wants the PWD to do it. What can we do in such a situation,’’ asked Mr Tirlochan Singh, Chief Engineer, PUDA.

Phase II residents, too, faced similar problems. According to Mr Pavan Sharma, a bank employee, water entered his house at about 4 am.

Some residents complained that their telephones had stopped working since last night. BSNL officials said they were rectifying the faults.

Mohali, August 2
Ishtpreet Singh, brother of Maninder Pal Singh Kohli, had harboured Kohli for a week at his residence in Sector 44, Chandigarh, while he was on the run. Ishtpreet told the Mohali police that he harboured Kohli in his own house immediately after latter left his Mohali residence in March last year.

Police sources said Ishtpreet and his wife would leave Kohli in their flat in Sector 44 and lock him from outside so that no one in the neighbourhood had an inkling that there was some one inside.

Kohli stayed with Ishtpreet for over a week in April. “When the news reached India that an Asian was wanted for the murder of Hannah Foster, Kohli, who was staying with his parents in Phase 10, Mohali, went to Dehra Dun on March 28, 2003. He barely stayed there for a few days after which he came back to Chandigarh. He also rented a room in Sector 8,
Chandigarh, and stayed there for another day or two. But, finally he was let into Ishtpreet’s house. He stayed there for less than week.

The two brothers planned Kohli’s escape to South India,’’ said a senior police officer today. Ishtpreet had been in constant touch with Kohli through the Internet and also send money to him, he added.

Meanwhile, a local court declined prosecution’s request to extend police remand of Ishtpreet, and instead sent him to judicial custody till August 16. Ishtpreet, a constable with the Punjab police, had been suspended following his arrest on July 27 on charges of harbouring Kohli.

Kohli’s second brother, a junior engineer with a Punjab civic body, was, however, discharged last Saturday from the case of cheating, forgery, criminal conspiracy and harbouring Kohli registered against his brothers, parents, a Delhi resident and five others at Mohali on March 25, last year.

When the prosecution sought extension in the police remand of Ishtpreet Singh, a computer operator with the Punjab police, to find out details of his bank accounts, Sub-Divisional Magistrate Poonam Ratti declined it and instead sent the accused to judicial custody.

Ishtpreet was later lodged in the Central Jail, Patiala. Kohli is also lodged in the same jail under judicial remand till August 14.

Maninder Pal Singh Kohli is the main suspect in the rape and murder of British Schoolgirl Hannah Foster. He had absconded from Britain after allegedly committing the crime on March 14, 2003. He allegedly spent 10 days with his family at Mohali from March 18 to 28. Before his arrest on July 15 by the West Bengal police in Siliguri district, he had lived at various places in the country while on the run for 16 months.

Mohali, August 2
Even as the police continued to grapple with the sudden spurt in burgalries in the township, robbers decamped with 50 cellphones and accessories worth Rs 2.5 lakh from the Nokia Care showroom in Phase V last night.

The robbers hit and tied up the night watchman before committing the crime. All this took place while the police claimed to have been carrying out a search light patrolling last night.

According to the police, the robbery took place just after 2 a.m. The night watchman, Chander, who was on guard in the market, saw a man posing as a watchman. When Chander asked him who he was, he told him that he was the new watchman. Chander told him that he would have to call shop owners to ask them if they had deployed a new watchman. And while the two were talking to each other, two unidentified persons came from behind and tied up Chander, said Mr A.K. Malhotra, shop owner.

After tying up the watchman, the robbers threw him under a pile of tarpauline lying nearby. There was a lot of stuff lying in the parking that belongs to a tent house shop. As he was under the big pile of tarpauline, sounds that he made could not be heard. Also one of the robbers had his eye on the watchman while the other two broke the shutter and robbed the shop, said a police officer.

Chander told the police that the robbers also threw a small bomb-like thing before him and the smoke emanating from it made him drowsy. He said person who was having his eye on him, also threatened to kill him if he
made any sound. Finally, the robbers left in a tempo-like vehicle, Chander told the police.

Mr A.K. Malhotra said Chander called him at 5 a.m. at his residence and informed him that his shop had been robbed. I rushed to the shop and found that the shutter locks had been broken and 50 cellphones and accessories taken away by the robbers. In all we had lost Rs 2.5 lakh worth of stuff. Today’s incident is the seventh such incident in the past one week. The police said it was questioning the watchman and two other persons too had been rounded up in the case but no arrests had been made.

A large number of individuals in various parts of the country have come out in support of Dr Kalia's endeavour. They are urging all to: "Please sign in, by writing
your name & then copy & paste it again to forward it to all. Let us as Indians, give a supporting hand to Dr. Kalia for his efforts to get justice for his dead son and others like him, who laid down their lives for us. Lt Kalia died on the front so that you and I could live.

"Can we please unite this one time, and ensure that his father,
Dr Kalia, does not die an embittered man who no longer believes in his own people? People forward emails to their friends which compel them to forward it by saying that it will harm you if you don't. This one is simply an appeal. It is for you to choose to either forward it, or look the other way".

File photo: Lt. Saurabh Kalia

Chandigarh, August 2
Dr N.K. Kalia, father of late Lt. Saurabh Kalia of the Army has launched a campaign on the internet to force the Union Government to ask Pakistan to punish those who tortured his son and four other Indian soldiers to death after their capture at the LoC in Kargil on May 15, 1999.

Dr Kalia who is working as a senior scientist at the CSIR at Palampur in Himachal Pradesh feels that international human rights organisations must be approached to "expose and pressure Pakistan to identify, book and punish all those who perpetrated this heinous crime to our men in uniform. If Pakistan is allowed to go unpunished in this case, everyone can imagine the consequences of what might happen in the future".

In a telephonic talk with TNS today, Dr Kalia said he had taken up the matter with the President, the Prime Minister and all others concerned with the issue. "I have been at it for the past five years. All that I have got so far is promises. But my only mission in life now is to ensure that the guilty are brought to book".

Dr Kalia's appeal which has been posted on the internet reads as follows:

"Dear Indians,

I am the proud father of late Lt. Saurabh Kalia of the 4th JAT Regiment of the Indian Army who laid down his life at the prime age of 22 for the nation at Kargil.

He was the first officer to detect and inform about Pak intrusions. Pakistan captured him and his patrol party of five brave men alive on 15th May, 99 from our side of the LOC. They were in their captivity for three weeks and subjected to unprecedented brutal torture as evident from their bodies handed over by the Pakistan Army on 9th June, 99.

Pakistan dared to humiliate India flouting all international norms.

However, the Indian soldiers did not break while undergoing all this unlimited
barbarism. This speaks volumes of their patriotism, grit, determination and our whole nation should be proud of them. All over the country there had been unprecedented anger and outrage at this tragedy. Sacrificing oneself for the nation is an honour every soldier would love to do but no parents, army or nation can bear what happened to these brave sons of India. I am afraid every parent would think twice before sending their wards to the armed forces if we all fall short of our duty of safeguarding the prisoners of war and let them meet the sane fate as my son.

It may also send a demoralising signal to the Army personnel fighting for the nation that our POWs in Pak cannot be taken care of. Through this humble submission, may I appeal to all civilised people irrespective of colour, caste, region, religion and political lineage to stir their conscience and rise to take this as a national issue.

If Pakistan is allowed to go unpunished in this case, everyone can imagine the consequences of what might happen in the future.

This is a list of five other soldiers who preferred to die for their country rather than open their mouths in front of the enemy:

Chandigarh, August 2
From Class I to Class V, the performance of students across the country would now be evaluated on the basis of a new scale system introduced by the Central Board of secondary Education.

At the end of an academic year, the students would be issued an achievement card, replacing the existing report cards.

In the entire exercise of evaluation, spread over the year with at least three assessments, the talents of the learners would be identified so as to empower them with positive inputs. The scale system has been drafted in a way that the holistic manner of learning was reflected in the evaluation report.

A note of warning is there for the parents of obese children. Under the new system, the height and weight of the students would have to be measured thrice in a year.

A senior officer in the board said the criterion for evaluation from Classes I and II would be slightly simpler than that for Classes III to V. To ensure that the learning was done in a stress-free atmosphere, the board has advised its affiliate schools to do away with the terminal examination up to class V and initiate the process of continuous and comprehensive learning.

In English, a teacher would have to evaluate his pupils in reading skills, fluency, comprehension, creative writing, handwriting, spellings, vocabulary, conversation, recitation and listening skills. For students from Class III to Class V, extra reading and a project would get extra marks. A similar criterion of evaluation would be used for Hindi.

In the subject of co-curricular activities, the enthusiasm, discipline, team spirit and talent would be the basis of evaluation, said the official.

The learners would have to display their qualities of courteousness, confidence, care of belonging, neatness, regularity, initiative, sharing and caring, respect of other's property and self-control in the class of personal and social traits.

The performance card has the columns of specific participation, general remarks and attendance. The signatures of the class teacher, principal and the parents would be must. A five-point scale has been recommended to judge the performance of a candidate.

The schools have been strictly told that no negative observation has to be made in the assessment format. The tutors have also been asked to identify the positive attributes in their pupils rather than identifying what they were not capable of.

Chandigarh, August 2
The Phukan Commission of Inquiry, investigating into allegations of corruption in defence deals, has authorised its secretary to take necessary action to make the original video tapes shot by tehelka.com available for screening before general courts martial trying Army officers on charges of professional impropriety. The tapes, shot secretly by tehelka journalists posing as arms dealers contain footage of army officers allegedly demanding and accepting bribes.

Stating this after the proceedings of the GCM trying Col Anil Sahgal were adjourned for the day, prosecution counsel, Mr Arvind Moudgil told The Tribune that an affidavit was submitted before the commission earlier by the prosecutor, Major Sanjay Sitanshu, requesting the commission that its authorised representative may carry the original tapes for being produced as evidence before the GCM. The tapes will not be routed through the Defence Ministry, as was being sought earlier, but will remain in the custody of an officer nominated by the commission.

During the GCM proceedings, the defence submitted an application to the court, annexing a Delhi High Court order. According to the prosecution counsel, the order states, "Any order of direction passed by the GCM with regard to the service and conduct of the petitioner after the conclusion of the trial shall be subject to the result of the writ petition." Colonel Sahgal had filed a writ before the Delhi High Court, challenging his trial by court martial.

Chandigarh, August 2
It was an impassioned plea of a worried mother, seeking release of her son from the clutches of Ms Mayawati, former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Kanshi Ram’s mother, Bishen Kaur cried her heart out at a press conference, here today, asking for justice.

“The ends of justice are not met if my son continues to be distanced from his family, not by destiny but by design. The courts have been unjust, they have failed to bring me and my son together. We are very worried of what Mayawati is doing to him, giving him slow death. Me, my other son and daughter, want him back with us,” she mumbled.

Mr Kanshi Ram’s brother Dalwara Singh and sister Swaran Kaur, too, claimed that their brother was being kept in Mayawati’s custody to ensure that he did not “expose” her misdeeds. Later, Ms Bishen Kaur was made chairperson of “National Struggle Committee”, a body which would seek reunion of Mr Kanshi Ram with his family and well-wishers.

The committee’s convener, Mr S.R. Sahungra, a former MLA from Punjab, condemned and criticised Ms Mayawati for “detaining” Mr Kanshi Ram against his wishes to keep her “misdeeds under wraps”.

“We will not let her get away with this. We will get Mr Kanshi Ram back. We will first approach the Supreme Court for getting his custody. If nothing comes of that, we will launch a movement to seek our leader’s release. Ms Mayawati is playing into the hands of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to ensure she escapes the wrongs she has done,” said Mr Kanshi Ram’s mother.

Chandigarh, August 2
A life-saving surgery under torchlight. Anyone might be scared at the very mention of this but for the doctors and the technical staff of GMCH, Sector 32, there is nothing unusual about it. As whenever there is a power cut, the surgeons resort to operating on the patients with any serious ailment under torchlight after the emergency lights fail to get started.

“Taking a torch to an operation theatre and using of is a part of the protocol. Torches are always taken with the other equipment while performing a surgery. Ideally the stabilizers have to provide back up for the emergency lights in case the regular power supply is disrupted in an operation theatre. But if the stabilizers fail to work due to any technical hitch, the torchlight is used,’’ said a technical officer at the GMCH.

Doctors said on the condition of anonymity, that while in the developed countries, the sophisticated machinery and the less work load per day of performing surgeries ensured that the electrical equipment was in the best shape always, the same can not be expected in hospitals in India.

“We cannot leave the operation and wait for the electricity supply to resume when the surgery is mid- way. The torches that we use are high powered and are tested before being taken into the operation theatre, which is a practice in all other hospitals as well. Moreover, on an average more than 30 surgeries are performed in the hospital and the use of torches can occur only while performing some of them;’’ remarked a doctor at the hospital.

YOGA seems to have become a buzzword for the young and the old alike. As you chance upon any city public park or a parking lot, a balcony or boulevard, yoga enthusiasts could be seen sweating it out. You may come across droves of die-hard yoga enthusiasts, as also those afflicted with asthma, arthritis, choked arteries, low or high blood pressure, blurred vision, rheumatics, diabetes, migraine, graying hair or thinning hairline, etc. doing various yogic exercises. Women, outnumbering men, could be seen going steady with nail-scratching, pulse-pounding, jumping, jogging or doing push-ups and sit-ups, besides deep breathing.

The core issue of discussions or debates anywhere and everywhere are the amazing results of going the yoga way. ‘Aastha’ channel and regular talks by yoga gurus and acharayas have played a significant role in bringing a sea-change in the peoples’ , especially the urbanites’, lifestyle.

“I had been strictly on regular medicines for diabetes for the past couple of years. This people-friendly yoga therapy has indeed proved a panacea for me. A week or so going the yoga way I discovered, to my utter amazement, the sugar level had come down to the prescribed level. The scare of popping pills regularly has gone with the winds. I am going steady with yoga now”, beams Shefali Khanna (13), a resident of Sector 41.

Going the yoga way is the only ‘mantra’ for those who are sick of their prolonged ailments or the stressful life we all normally lead nowadays. In such a situation yoga comes in handy as a potential stress-buster.

“I had been under tremendous mental stress caused due to a severe pain in my leg joints. I was advised to consult a specialist. Call it a sheer coincidence, a yoga-friendly colleague came calling one fine evening. I narrated the whole story to him. He asked me do a particular yogic exercise which I did for three days and the result was simply incredible. I suggest this exercise to whosoever calls on me”, confides Vinay Parkash Gupta, a Modern Housing Complex resident.

Police duty

Police duty is tough and leaves cops a little time for their families. It is thus that a newly wed constable posted in Police Station, Sector 5, Panchkula, sought transfer from the police station to the police Headquarters having a comparatively light duty with fixed hours. In his application to the SP, the cop said he needed time to adjust with his wife, and enjoy marital bliss. The SP relented, with a note saying that now his request was genuine. In a lighter vein, the note also stated that this would surely prove to be a temporary arrangement, because after he had enough of “marital bliss” and faced the marriage blues, he was sure to ask for a transfer back to the police station.

Self-defence

Even the police has been at the receiving end of residents for its failure to check crime against women. The All-India Anti Terrorist Front has planned a novel way to check crime. It has decided to open a self-defence academy, specially for women.

The Front has urged the educational institutions, residents welfare associations and women organisations to enrol in the academy to be run on no profit no loss basis. Self-defence techniques can avoid many unpleasant situations,
particularly for the women, the Front feels.

The last meeting of the Municipal Corporation saw more uproarious scenes than any other previous meeting and ended without any discussion on the agenda items. While most Congress councillors were present, the Mayor, Ms Kamlesh, also from the same party, found no support from her colleagues on any issue.

Fighting the Opposition almost single-handedly and trying to deal with the situation, she used every tactic to deal with the councillors. She chose to look away at some time, at other she would chat up the Commissioner to express her displeasure. She tried appealing to the councillors of the Opposition to give her time to speak, answer their queries, even committing to give them time to speak their mind.

And, all through, her Congress councillors chose to remain mum. The reason, as one councillor later said, was that the Mayor was giving them no importance and was working independently, without consulting them on any matter of the Corporation. Their silence, he said, was an attempt by the councillors to cut her to size. Whether that target was achieved or not is not known but it sure did prove that the male ego was very fragile and got hurt when it come to taking orders from women.

‘Kar
pareshan’

For the journalists attending the meeting of the House, the proceeding proved to be a taxing affair with all business suspended and a tug of war on between the Mayor and the councillors, each one trying to make a point.

At the end of the day, there was not much to write home about except the drama on the floor of the House where councillors played actors. The meeting was, finally, adjourned when one of the councillors was suddenly taken ill at the meeting.

While everybody was leaving the hall, a councillor remarked, “Such scenes keep happening all the time. Today, it stretched on endlessly. Instead of calling it the ‘corporation’, we have rechristened it as ‘kar
pareshan’ in keeping with the prevalent culture.”

Award for Mittal

Dr S. B. Lal Mittal has been awarded Lifetime Achievement Award at the 58th Annual State Medical Conference PIMACON 2004. Dr Mittal, who has been acknowledged as a `legend’ by the Indian Medical Association, has been serving humanity as a doctor, social worker, philanthropist and a Rotarian. He organised Fund Relief measures as a Rotary District Governor in 1993 and also started a free sewing centre for poor girls. He has been giving 12 scholarships every year to poor and deserving students for the past 10 years and has adopted an orphan girl of a village in Rajpura 10 years ago.

Trivial issue

Due to the hype about Friendship Day on August 1, another important event which also started on the same day, went almost unnoticed, both by public as well as the media. While many newspapers gave enough space to youngsters’ celebrating the Friendship Day, the World Breast-feeding Week, which also started on the same day, hardly got any coverage in inside pages.

While friendship can be the food for soul, mother’s milk is the first ever food a child tastes in this world. According to doctors, it not only boosts child’s immunity but some studies claim that it is also good for developing the child’s brain. Some studies even claim that a child, who has been fed on mother’s milk for the first 10 to 12 months of his life, has later turned out to be quite good in mathematics.

But it is sad that the media has been highlighting trivial events while ignoring important health
issues.

Overspeeding

A city school has found a novel way to encourage public participation in curbing drivers of school buses from overspeeding and breaking rules. The management of Ryan International School, Sector 49, has painted a message on its buses urging road users to call up the principal if they see the driver overspeeding or breaking the rules. The mobile number of the principal is mentioned in the message painted on the bus asking residents to keep a watch on the driver.

Cycle tracks

Slow carriage ways or cycle tracks built along the major roads in the city are hardly used. Cyclists and rickshaw-pullers prefer to ply on the main road. People prefer to stay away from cycle tracks because these are not interconnected when one takes left turn. A cyclist has to come on the main road and then take a left turn. The cycle track should also provide for a left turn, opine users.

Young leaders

Seven students of Sahibzada Ajit Singh Academy, a residential school in Ropar, represented India at the Global Young Leaders Conference
(GYLC) from July 4 to 16 in Washington and New York.

Gurvinder Kaur, Sarabjit Kaur, Rajivinder Kaur, Narinder Kaur, Rupindejrit Singh, Charan Kanwal Singh and Ravinder Singh in the age group of 16 to 18, were among 350 outstanding scholars who attended the conference.

During the 14-day-long conference, the students stayed at George Washington University at Washington and for seven days at Manhattan College, at New York. They also visited White House, Lincoln War Memorial, Korean War Memorial US Department of State and embassies of different countries, International Human Rights Commission, Smithsonian Museums, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, NBC studio, Statue of Liberty and United Nations.

At the conclusion of the conference, the students passed resolutions on global issues at the General Assembly of the UNO which will highlight the views of these young future leaders to the present
leadership.

— Sentinel

COMMUNITY

Council seeks CBI probe into PRL embezzlement
Tribune News Service

Mohali, August 2
The Trade Union Council today demanded a CBI inquiry into the alleged embezzlement at Punjab Recorders Limited PRL here. The council also decided to hold a protest rally in Mohali on August 17 to bring into focus the dismal condition of industries here.

Mr Ramji Dass, general secretary of the Council, Mohali, said at a press conference that the present Managing Director of the company, Mr Varinder Singh, was fooling the police and the public by lodging fake complaints against his employees. ‘‘The truth is that he wants to hide his misdeeds. There has been no theft in the company. He wants to shirk away from paying the pending salaries of former employees of the company,’’ he said.

Mr Rajinder Singh, president of the council said that the MD was solely responsible for the closure of the company. ‘‘We had been regularly complaining to the company’s Chairman that the MD was allowing outside vendors access into the factory premises. This should not have been done due to security reasons,’’he said, adding that most of the components were being bought from outside vendors. ‘‘He would buy low quality component from vendors of his own choice. Many a time we used to rectify these low quality components within our factory. Our defence orders were rejected because we would use low quality components that the MD procured from local companies,’’said Mr Rajinder Singh.

Mr Varinder Singh, MD of the company, had complained to the police on July 24, alleging that three different components were missing from the company’s premises. These included certain items used in manufacturing bilge pumps for the BMP and T-72 tanks. He had also claimed that his company was the only one in the country producing these components for the defence services.

Established in 1977 to manufacture components for India’s main battle tanks, PRL Mohali, a Rs 3.5 crore subsidiary of Punjab Infotech Limited, formally closed down on December 16, 2003.

* Highest discharge in the river on July 9 — 864 cusecs.* Lowest discharge in the river on July 30 — 44 cusecs.* Discharge in the river on August 2 at 4 pm — 201 cusecs

Panchkula, August 2
The Ghaggar river has turned into a tiny stream of water. Notwithstanding the downpour since yesterday, the water level in the river is at its lowest ebb.

Officials in the Irrigation Department, Haryana, inform that the lowest water discharge was recorded before the rains, two days ago at 44 cusecs. Though the continuous rain since yesterday led to an increase in the water level (306 cusecs at noon and 201 cusecs in the evening today), but even this is the lowest level of water recorded in the past 30 years.

The river, which was known to play havoc during the monsoon months by flooding huge tracts of land in Panchkula and Patiala district, is now merely a tiny stream passing through two spans of the Ghaggar bridge. The highest water discharge in the river was reported in July 1995, at 1,27,490 cusecs. During the past 10 years, the discharge in the river has remained between 17,000 to 82,000 cusecs during July and August. The maximum water discharge decreased to 10, 817 cusecs last year. As against this, the highest discharge recorded so far this year is a mere 864 cusecs on July 9.

Irrigation Department officials say that though the Ghaggar is a seasonal river, the water flows through the river all year through. Even during the winters, the water discharge remains between 90 to 100 cusecs on an average each year.

The Ghaggar originates from Sarahan in Himachal Pradesh, and its catchment area also falling in Himachal Pradesh. It enters Haryana from Morni and passes through Panchkula and Patiala districts before entering Haryana again at Gula Chikka in Kaithal. Two tributaries — Tangri and Markanda — enter the river in Kurukshetra and the river then reaches Otto Weir in Sirsa district, where the water is used for irrigation purposes.

“It is for the first time that the discharge has remained less than 100 cusecs for the past almost one month. Even this discharge is more of the sewerage discharge from the surrounding towns and villages,” says a top official in the Irrigation Department.

He says that since the water discharge in the tributaries is good, the water flow in the Otto Weir will not be affected. “Since the monsoon has started only in August this year, we hope that the water level in the river will increase as the monsoon sets in,” he added.

THE Army should thank the Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, Mr Virbhadra Singh, for bringing focus on vigilance on the state borders. At the civil and military liaison conference at Chandi Mandir, Mr Virbhadra Singh said whenever the security forces increased pressure on the militants in J&K, they escaped to the border district of Chamba.

After its eruption Jammu and Kashmir about 15 years ago, militancy continued to spread to more areas in the state. In the early 1990s, it got spilled over to Doda district. And now is it one of the most troubled spots in the Jammu region. We have a sizeable strength of the security forces tied down to this area to quell militancy.

In Chamba district, the militants started making inroads in the 1990s. They gunned down two policemen there in September, 1993, followed by kidnapping of herb collectors. In August, 1998, 42 killings were reported in Chamba. Of these, 35 people were killed at Kalaban and Satrandi, in which the involvement of locals was also proved.

Anyone with a vision cannot deny that the ISI of Pakistan has spread its tentacles to Himachal Pradesh in its proxy war. For the past several years, the militants have been pumping money into this area and their sympathisers have been purchasing land in the border belt of the state. As usual, our intelligence is failing us here also. Let us not get caught napping in Himachal Pradesh; otherwise we will have to cut a sorry figure one day.

Health scheme’s tardy implementation

The members of the Indian Ex-servicemen League (IESL), Ropar, have expressed their dissatisfaction over the tardy implementation of the Ex-servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS). Their main criticism is about the inordinate delay in empanelling hospitals in this region. They say that in the absence of these hospitals and polyclinics, they have to go to other hospitals for treatment and tests, which cannot be done in military hospitals.

Most ex-servicemen say that the ECHS application form is not only too lengthy but is also intricate that even the officers find it difficult to fill it. They also say that while earlier the ECHS form was given free of cost, now one has to pay for it. The Army authorities say that only Rs 3 is charged for the form because when the form was free not even half of the forms were returned after filling them up.

What the Army authorities must realise is that this form is not a legal document. There should, therefore, be no requirement for an ex-servicemen to give an affidavit vide page 11 of the form. This needs to be excluded. There is a definite requirement to simplify this form.

Medical bills

The ex-servicemen whose medical bills are pending for payment should feel happy to know that the Kendriya Sainik Board (KSB), New Delhi, has received Rs 6 crore to clear all pending bills. The bills up to March 31, 2004, have already been cleared.

Earlier, all Deputy Directors Sainik Welfare (DDSW) on instructions from the KSB, had stopped sending medical bills to the latter because of non-availability of funds. They should now send these bills to the KSB for early payment. They should also disseminate this information to all ex-servicemen, for many cases have come to notice where the ex-servicemen, whose bills are pending, were found ignorant that the bills could be paid now.

Subedar Major and Honorary Capt Anant Ram Premi (retd) from Palampur had submitted his medical bill of Rs 70,000 to the DDSW, Kangra, on April 5. The latter was not aware of the fact that it could be forwarded to the KSB for payment until the Western Command Ex-servicemen Helpline informed him about it the other day.

Incidentally, the KSB, according to the latest rules, can reimburse 75 and 90 per cent amount of their medical bills to officers and JCOs/ORs,
respectively.

THE suicide of an engineering suicide has rocked the whole of Kerala because the same has been politicised on the ground that it is reflective of the government’s apathy towards the Dalits and the poor.

Another suicide that has hit the headlines in the national papers is that of Nafiza Joseph, 25-year-old former Miss India, in Mumbai. It is reported that she had her share of physical problems such as epilepsy but her real problem was a series of failed relationships.

Suicides were also in the news when over a year thousands of farmers in Andhra committed suicide following the failure of crops.

While the media allotted lot of space for such news, there was very little effort to prevent such tragedies by way of campaigns, counselling or debate on the ethics of seeking such a solution to problems.

Of course there is lot of literature on suicide. The pessimistic philosopher, Scopenhauer, found life full of suffering and recommended suicide as a way out of the problems.

The self-destructive thoughts come to a person when he or she finds the life situation unbearable. Such thoughts are said to be induced by evil spirits, according to some theologians. If the potential victim is enabled to cross the crisis period by a well meaning friend or counsellor in the nick of time, the person may survive to tell about his triumph over a possible tragedy.

Even assuming that a person ends all his/her problems by dying, he or she will leave behind shattered lives and responsibilities unfulfilled. Running away from life is a cowardly act as against facing the challenges with courage. One view is that sufferings and sorrows are means the Creator uses to mould the character of individuals.

In fact most religions hold that life is a precious gift and should not be squandered. If God is the author of life, man has no right to destroy it.

Prayopavesa, or fasting to death, is an acceptable way for a Hindu to end life in certain circumstances. But prayopavesa is stated to be very different from suicide in that it is non-violent and uses natural means; it is resorted to only when the body has served its purpose and becomes a burden. Further it is a gradual process giving ample time for the patient to prepare himself and those around him for his death. While suicide is associated with frustration or depression, prayopavesa is associated with feelings of serenity. It’s non-violent and uses natural means.

Hindu law lays down certain conditions for prayopavesa such as inability to perform normal bodily purification and imminence of death. The action must be done under community regulation.

Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami, a Hindu leader born in California, took his own life by prayopavesa in November, 2001. After finding that he had untreatable intestinal cancer, the Satguru meditated for several days and then announced that he would accept pain-killing treatment only and would undertake prayopavesa — taking water, but no food. He died on the 32nd day of his self-imposed fast.

Generally speaking there are several Hindu points of view on this issue. One view is that a doctor should not accept a patient’s request for euthanasia since this will cause the soul and body to be separated at an unnatural time. The result will damage the karma of both the doctor and patient. There are others who believe that euthanasia cannot be allowed because it breaches the teaching of ahimsa (doing no harm). However, some Hindus maintain that by helping to end a painful life a person is performing a good deed and so fulfilling their moral obligations.

Muslims believe that all human life is sacred because it is given by Allah, and that Allah chooses how long each person will live. Human beings should not interfere in this. “Do not take life, which Allah made sacred, other than in the course of justice.” (Koran 17.33)

Suicide is serious sin against God, who created all life. Suicide is murder, it is always wrong. There is no circumstance that can justify someone taking his/her own life. Believers are called to live their lives for God — the decision on when to die is God’s and God’s alone. A good way to illustrate suicide for a Christian is to view it as forcing your way in to see the King instead of waiting for Him to summon you. He will point His scepter towards you, sparing your eternal life, but that does not mean He is happy with you. Although it is not describing suicide, 1 Corinthians 3:15 is probably a good description of what happens to a believer who commits suicide: “he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.”

To those who are willing to end their lives over flimsy issues, the living will have to spread the message that life is a gift from God not to be
squandered.

Panchkula, August 2
A 25-year-old labourer was killed after the scooter he was driving skidded on the Panchkula- Kalka national highway, near Surajpur village, this morning.

The police says that other than the fact that visibility was poor because of the rains, the victim, Amar Singh, was in an inebriated condition.

It is learnt that the person riding pillion with the victim, Kailash, escaped with minor injuries.

The victim was taken to the General Hospital, Sector 6, where he succumbed to his injuries.

In another incident, an Assistant lineman of the
Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (UHBVN), Jaichand, was seriously injured after his scooter was hit by a vehicle, near Barwala this evening. He was taken to the General Hospital, Panchkula, from where he was referred to the PGI, Chandigarh.

A 22- year- old youth, Vinesh, was bit by a snake on his hand while he was trying to flush out rain water from a drain, near his house.

Chandigarh, August
2
Samit Ahlawat of Chandigarh, an IIT graduate, has done the city proud by securing a rare honour from the US.

He is shortly going on a $ 40,000 scholarship to the University of Illinois for his M.S. It is one of the most prestigious engineering universities in the USA. Ranked fourth today, at one point it was the second best after the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology.

Samit did his schooling from Chandigarh before he went to the IIT, Kanpur, for his B.Tech. in Mechanical Engineering.

He had been consistently a topper in his branch. He has worked for Yahoo Search Technologies for one year at Bangalore.

Chandigarh, August 2
A two-day workshop on “Think globally and act locally” was organised by the Dev Samaj College and Srijan Peace Education Centre, Yuvsatta, here today with a view to promoting ‘Campaign for Peace City Chandigarh’.

As many as 35 peace clubs of various schools and colleges of Chandigarh are participating in the workshop.

MP honoured

The Association of Private Educational Institutions honoured the Member of Parliament, Mr Pawan Kumar Bansal, at a function here. Mr Bansal was welcomed by Mr S.M.Verma and Mr S.C. Vohra, office-bearers of the association.

Mr Bansal said he had proposed to the Chandigarh Administration to carve out small plots out of the unused land in government schools for private schools running in rented accommodation.

Chandigarh, August 2
More than 900 applicants, whose names figured in the draw of lots for a housing scheme in Sector 51-A, will start getting their allotment letters from August 4.

The scheme was floated by the Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB). The CHB will send allotment letters through registered post to the allottees. People can also obtain a computer generated copy of the allotment letter from a special counter set up in the CHB office in Sector 9. The counter will remain open from 10 a.m to 1 p.m. There are about 335 flats in Category I and 600 flats in Category II.

The letters will be despatched in phases. For those who want to get a computer generated copy of the allottment letter from the special counter, the schedule is: for house Nos. 245 to 294-C — August 4; house Nos. 295 to 328-C — August 5; house Nos. 1 to 6 -C and from 19 to 36, from 55 to 66-C and 73 to 84-C — August 6. House Nos. 97 to 132-C and 159 to 172-C — August 7 and house Nos. 177 to 196-C and also 205 to 244-C on August 8. On first two days the counter will deal with Category I flats while on other days it will deal with Category II.

The allottees will be asked to complete the required formalities before the possession letter is issued. So far the allotment had been held up due to the lack of sewerage and storm water pipes. And also due to non-removal of the unauthorised marble market.

The Chandigarh Administration, which is responsible for providing these services, had faced problem while laying these services as the slum colony No. V was coming in the way. Now the engineers have found a way around the slum colony. Sources said it had cost more than what it should, but development could not wait till the slum was removed or shifted thus it was decided to find another route to lay the sewerage and storm water lines.

Panchkula, August 2
Chief Minister, Om Prakash Chautala today laid the foundation stone of the building of the Haryana Staff Selection Commission in Sector 2 and the Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission in Sector 4.

The building of the Haryana Staff Selection Commission will be constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 1. 91 crore in an area of 3300 sq m. The building will have a canteen, inspection room, visitor room in the basement, and offices and conference hall on the ground floor. The recruitment cell, legal cell, establishment branch, common room and interview room will be constructed on the first floor.

The government has given directions to construct culverts and pullias on a priority basis, especially in hilly areas under the Shivalik Development agency. This was stated by the Commissioner, Ambala Division, Mr Maha Singh, while addressing a meeting of the Shivalik Development Agency today.

He said that the agency had spent a sum of Rs 644. 70 lakh on different development works during the last financial year. He directed the officials to complete the construction of culverts and link roads and ensure the proper drinking water supply. He also directed the UHBVN authorities to complete the work of electrification on powerless dhanis in Morni and Pinjore.

The construction of Tikkar road, setting up a computer centre at Morni, proper drinking water supply and food for work programmes in the area were also reviewed.

Janta Darbar

The district administration will organise a Janta Darbar at the Mini-Secretariat tomorrow. On this occasion, the DC will hear the grievances of the public, along with other district officials and redress their complaints.

The Old Ghaggar Bridge is being closed for traffic for carrying out repair on the bridge from tomorrow.

An official press release said that the vehicular traffic is being diverted through the new Ghaggar Bridge till the bridge is repaired. The expansion joints of this bridge, with eight spans, have loosened and the bearing plates, which facilitate the working of these joints, have worn off. A sum of Rs 57 lakh has been sanctioned for the repair of this 300 m long bridge across the Ghaggar.

Chandigarh, August 2
Safai karamcharis staged a dharna against the Mohalla Sudhar Committee being run by the Mayor’s husband in Ram Darbar here today. The President of the BJP SC Morcha, Mr Sachin Lohtiya, and other workers of the morcha extended their support to the safai karamcharis.

They blocked the roads leading to Ram Darbar and threw garbage all around to lodge their protest.

CRIME

Six held in theft cases
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 2
The Chandigarh Police has arrested six persons in connection with six theft cases.

Meanwhile, a truck and an Indica car were stolen and a chain of a woman was snatched in city during the past 24 hours.

A gold chain of a woman was snatched in Sector 38 when she was going to Amarjit Dairy for getting milk at around 5 am. The complainant said that the miscreant ran away after the incident.

Deria residents Nawal Kumar, Pappu Singh and Makhan Singh were arrested last night for allegedly lifting a truck (HYX 9660). They later used the truck to steal spare parts of vehicles from Verma Spare Parts Store. The police said the three parked the truck along the road in Deria and went to the nearby spare parts store and loaded spare parts of cranes and trucks.

However, their effort failed when the driver of the stolen truck informed the police about the disappearance of his vehicle within minutes of it being lifted.

The patrolling staff of the Deria police post chased and cornered them near Makhan Majra.

The Sector 19 police station arrested Harpreet Singh (25) of Hoshiarpur and Rahul of Phase II Mohali and recovered three stolen mobile phones from them.

The police said Harpreet, who was released from the Burail Jail only a month ago on bail, had been at a de-addiction camp in Delhi.

The duo used to enter those houses whose doors were open and pick up mobile phones. They had stolen mobile phones from a house in Sector 21, a car near the Doaba Sweets and from Sector 35. Both of them are alleged to be drug-addicts, the police said.

A scooter-lifter Sartaj Singh of Phase X of Mohali was arrested at a picket in Sector 45 by the police along with a scooter lifted from the Sector 45 during the day.

An Indica car was stolen from in front of house number 3120 in Sector 35-D.

Panchkula, August 2
The mystery behind the death of a 32-year-old housewife, Anju Sharma, has been solved after the police registered a case of murder against an acquaintance.

A case under Section 302 of IPC has been registered against Rajbir at the Sector 5 police station on the complaint of her sister-in-law, Aarti Sharma. The police say that the suspect has killed Anju in a fit of rage on June 17, at the latter’s house in Sector 2. Till the time of filing of this report, no arrests had been made. It may be noted that the woman was found dead on the first floor of her house under mysterious circumstances on July 17. A few days before her death, she had gone to her parents house in Patiala, and left her two children with her mother, on the pretext that she would come again and pick them up. The victim’s husband. Pawan Sharma, runs a restaurant in Ambala. At the time of incident, the victim’s mother in law was alone in the house. Her husband was away to Ambala, while her brother-in-law and sister-in-law had gone to market. When they came back, they found her dead.
TNS

Panchkula, August 2
Cash and goods worth Rs 40,000 were allegedly stolen from the Sector 21 residence of a manager working in a private firm, while he was away on five days, tour.

The burglary came to light when Mr Narinder Singh returned home yesterday. Mr Narinder is employed as Manager Corporate Sales, Gilco Exports, and stays alone in the house. On returning home, he found the house ransacked and the cash worth Rs 5,000, six or seven tolas of gold jewellery, and three watches missing.

The miscreants had reportedly entered the house by scaling the front boundary wall. While the lock on the main door was intact, they broke the grill of a window near the door and forced their entry into the house. All rooms in the house were thoroughly searched. Though an almirah in one room was completely ransacked, the miscreants did not touch the other almirah, raising suspicion that they knew the house well.

A team of forensic experts visited the scene of crime and lifted finger prints. The police has registered a case and started investigation.

Mohali, August 2
The police today claimed to have solved the gruesome murder of constable Meva Singh, with the arrest of three persons, all residents of Uttar Pradesh. According to the police, they were arrested by the Morinda police on July 30 on charges of thefts. During their cross examination the three revealed that they had murdered Meva Singh in February as he had ‘seen and accosted them’ in Mohali.

Meva Singh was stabbed to death by unidentified persons on the night of February 11. Meva Singh, a constable in Sohana police station, was returning to his residence in Sector 66 on the cycle when the incident took place.

The three Sham Singh Chohan, Sant Lal and Anil Kumar Yadav told the police that they were following a woman on the road dividing Baidwan village and Sector 68 that night. Meva Singh saw them and shouted at them to leave the woman alone. He also recognised one of them and took his name. At this the three left the woman, surrounded Meva Singh and stabbed him.

A profusely bleeding Meva Singh kept-lying on the road throughout the cold night. In the morning he was seen by a milkman who informed the police. He was rushed to the PGI where he died the next day. On February 14, a murder case was registered.

On July 30, Ropar police had arrested members of a robbers’ gang operating in Morinda. The arrested gang members, Sham Singh Chohan, Anil Kumar Yadav confessed to having committed various robberies. The Ropar SSP, Mr S.P. Singh, said the gang had been operating in the Morinda area of the district for the past quite some time. He said other members of the gang Shanker and Satvir were absconding and efforts were on to arrest them.

Chandigarh, August 2
An Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) of the Punjab Police was today arrested for allegedly offering a bribe to the Reader of the Inspector General of Police (Administration), Punjab, Mr Sanjiv Gupta, for getting his brother-in-law transferred.

ASI Heera Singh, posted with the CID, Ferozpore, was arrested by the Chandigarh Police after being booked under Section 12 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. A case has been registered in this regard in the Sector 3 Police Station.

According to the police, Heera Singh had sent an envelope containing four or five notes of Rs 500 denomination to the IG’s Reader, Inspector Digvijay Kapil, seeking the transfer of his brother-in-law Head Constable Baldev Singh from Ferozpore to the border range.

According to the police Baldev Singh had met the IG on June 28 and had sought a transfer. The IG had asked the Head Constable to come after a few days. Baldev Singh had talked to the husband of his sister about his willingness for a transfer.

According to the police, Heera Singh allegedly wrapped the Rs 500 notes in a piece of paper and sent those to Mr Kapil. When Mr Kapil opened the paper, he saw that there were currency notes in it. He immediately asked for the person who had delivered the envelope and handed over the case to the Chandigarh Police.

BUSINESS

Changes in Advertisement Control Order sought
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 2
A deputation of the Chandigarh Beopar Mandal today met the Finance Secretary, UT, and the Municipal Commissioner of Chandigarh and submitted a memorandum demanding changes in the Advertisement Control Order, 1952, to permit display of glow signs and neon sign boards in the city.

The deputation comprising of Mr Jagdish Arora, Mr Kamaljit Singh Panchhi, Mr L. C. Arora and Mr Jagdish Kalra pointed out that the control order was framed way back in 1952 and had more or less become obsolete as the style of business and trend of economy had changed drastically. Not only the glow signs should be permitted on the front facade of the shops and commercial establishments and outside the business premises, but also vertical and wall-mounted credit card display boards should be permitted to be installed on the pillars for the convenience of the public. New rules should be framed for putting extra advertisement board on a bare-minimum charges outside the business premises.

Special space at the entrance and exit of all markets be created for companies and business establishments to enable them to
advertise their products through modern way of advertisement to promote their business and public guidance at a reasonable rate.